Why My Initial Consultations Are Virtual — And Why That’s a Good Thing
If you’re looking for help with your dog’s behavior, you might expect me to show up at your house, meet your dog, and immediately start training.
That’s not how I do things.
All of my Initial Consultations are virtual.
And no, it’s not because I don’t want to meet your dog. Quite the opposite! Starting virtually allows me to focus on something much more important than watching your dog perform a behavior for an hour: getting the full picture.
Behavior is complicated. Fear, anxiety, reactivity, aggression, over-arousal, and other behavior concerns can be influenced by your dog’s history, health, environment, daily routine, learning experiences, stress levels, and more. A good behavior plan starts with understanding all of those pieces.
Your Initial Consultation Is About the WHOLE Dog
During your Initial Consultation, we spend time talking about your dog—not just the behavior that brought you to me.
We’ll cover things like:
Your dog’s behavior history: When did the behavior start? What does it look like? What triggers it? What happens before and after?
Medical history: We’ll talk about your dog’s health, medications, previous medical concerns, and anything else that could be affecting behavior.
Safety and management: What needs to change right now to keep everyone safe and prevent your dog from practicing behaviors we don’t want to see repeated?
Enrichment and exercise: Is your dog getting the right kinds of physical activity, mental stimulation, rest, and opportunities to just be a dog?
Basic training exercises: We’ll introduce a few skills that can help you get started right away.
Your goals: What would you like life with your dog to look like?
Your training plan: Based on everything we discuss, I’ll recommend the type of support that makes the most sense for your dog and your family.
This approach is consistent with how behavior professionals assess dogs: looking at history, health, environment, safety, learning, and the individual needs of the dog rather than focusing on one isolated behavior.
But Why Not Meet the Dog In Person First?
Because the first appointment is not really about training the dog.
It’s about building a behavior plan.
When I walk into your home for the first time, I don’t want to spend that valuable time trying to figure out what happened before I arrived. I want to already understand your concerns, your dog’s history, and what you’ve been experiencing.
Virtual consultations also allow us to talk without putting unnecessary pressure on a dog who may already be worried, reactive, overwhelmed, or uncomfortable with unfamiliar people.
Virtual consultations insure my safety. If your dog is aggressive towards strangers in their home, that increases the risk I am bitten. If I am bitten then your dog’s safety and your financial liability is also at risk. No one wants that!
And here’s an important point:
I don't need to see your dog explode, bark, lunge, growl, snap, or otherwise struggle in person to believe you.
In fact, intentionally putting a dog into a stressful situation just so I can "see the behavior" is not something I’m interested in doing.
Your description, history, patterns, and videos when appropriate can give us valuable information without forcing your dog into a situation where they feel unsafe. Even veterinary behavior professionals recognize that it is often unnecessary to intentionally create a dangerous or frightening situation for observation.
Virtual Doesn't Mean Your Dog Isn't Involved
Your dog can absolutely be part of the consultation!
Depending on your dog and what we're working on, I may ask you to show me parts of your home, demonstrate a training exercise, or let me observe your dog during normal activities.
But I don't need your dog sitting perfectly in front of the camera for the entire appointment.
Honestly, I'd much rather see your dog being your dog than watching them try to figure out why a strange person is staring at them through a screen.
So What Happens After the Initial Consultation?
This is where things get customized.
There is no magical "one-size-fits-all" training package that works for every dog. Some dogs need more management and education first. Some need help with foundational skills. Some need behavior modification. Some may benefit from veterinary support. Some families may need virtual coaching, while others will benefit from hands-on, in-person training.
And yes, your training plan can include in-person sessions.
The Initial Consultation helps me determine whether in-person sessions would be useful and, if so, what we should actually work on when we meet.
That means we're not spending your first appointment figuring out what the problem is. We're starting with a plan.
Think of the Initial Consultation as the Road Map
You wouldn't hire a contractor to start knocking down walls before figuring out what you're trying to build.
Your dog's behavior deserves the same kind of thoughtfulness.
The Initial Consultation gives us the opportunity to slow down, gather information, identify safety concerns, talk about your dog's needs, and create a realistic path forward.
Then we can get to the fun stuff: helping you and your dog build better skills, better communication, and a better life together.
So if you're wondering why Sits 'n Wiggles starts with a virtual Initial Consultation, the short answer is:
Because I want to understand your dog before I start training your dog.
And I think your dog deserves nothing less.
